The Native Nations Club is growing

students+in+the+Native+Nations+Club+prepare+frybread%2C+which+is+often+served+at+gatherings+and+has+a+complex+history.

students in the Native Nations Club prepare frybread, which is often served at gatherings and has a complex history.

Melissa Perez Gomez, BTS Editor

GRANGER High School has always been known for having a large population of students from different cultures, and Native Americans are no exception. “As far as the number of Native American students at this school versus other schools, we probably have twice as many Native American students compared to other high schools,” Mr. Platero, Native Nations Club Adviser, said.

Granger has a variety of clubs for all sorts of different ethnicities, and contrary to recent misunderstandings, the Native Nations Club isn’t a new addition and has been at Granger High for around 10 years.

The Native American community has always faced mis- treatment and lack of recognition across the nation, and it seems that Granger’s Native American community has also faced a similar lack of attention. “Most people don’t know we’re still here — the Native American kids. Some- times they don’t know our real history, but it’s good that we’re getting out there now,” Arianna Cook (10) said.

Cook is the club’s president. Her goal for the club is to educate the students from Granger about the history of Native American tribes, the issues they still face, and how the tribes support each other.

As of December, the club had 12 members and keeps gaining more members as the club continues to promote itself across the school. They encourage all stu- dents to join, even those who are not Native American.

While the club members are mostly Navajo, they still have members from other ethnic back- grounds. Nancy Htoo (9) is a non-Native American member of the club from Taiwan who joined the club after her friend invited her. A lot of non-Native American students have been excited about the club and have wanted to join after the popular frybread cooking event in the courtyard. That frybread sale got the attention of many students and helped the club in its recruitment efforts.

“The best club members are generally very young, especially the 9th and 10th graders,” said Mr. Platero. He hopes that the younger grades in the club carry on with the club in the follow- ing years so that the club grows and strengthens. “In the next two years, we’re gonna have a really nice club,” Platero said.

Mr. Platero believes the purpose of the club is for the students to build confidence and learn leadership skills. However, the students in the club mainly focus on how the club can be of service to the school. They also strive to educate the Granger community about Native American culture. “The purpose is to show every- one Native American culture and teach them about us, since we aren’t represented enough in education and media,” Brooklyn Atene (9) said.

The club’s members are ex- cited to continue doing activities throughout the school year and show their pride as members of the Native Nations club. They hope to host more fundraisers like the frybread sale and hopefully take part in more assemblies during the next school year.